Various mounting apparatus, such as mounting brackets, have been provided for mounting electrical connectors or electrical power distribution devices to various support structures whereby electrical cables can be fed into or through the mounting apparatus for termination purposes therewithin. For instance, various mounting brackets of the prior art include enclosed box-like structures into which electrical cables are fed through punched-out holes in the boxes. The boxes provide an enclosed area within which the cables can be terminated or interconnected with other cables or electrical lines, with the boxes protecting the cable terminations.
One application for such mounting apparatus is in wall constructions wherein wall panels are supported by interior wall support members, such as drywall panels being supported by interior studs. The mounting apparatus usually are secured to the interior studs, behind the wall panels, and the mounting apparatus, usually fabricated of metal material, protect the electrical terminations. For instance, extraneous objects such as nails, screws and the like may be inserted through a wall panel and, without the protective mounting apparatus, the objects can damage or destroy the electrical terminations. If the nail or screw contacts a power line, the person driving the nail or turning the screw could be injured by electrical shock. An example of the box-type mounting bracket structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,968 to MacMillen, dated Sep. 17, 1940.
There are certain applications wherein mounting bracket structures of the character described above are not fully advantageous. An example is in an application wherein generally flat or ribbon-type electrical cable is employed and which normally is protected, in cable form, by an exterior protective sheath or tubing. More specifically, some flat electrical cable is rolled into a generally cylindrical configuration and covered by a tubular insulating cladding or sheath. When the cable is to be terminated, the protective sheath is cut or stripped back, and the ribbon cable is unrolled into its operative flat configuration. An end of the cable may be terminated to an electrical connector or other power distribution device, or a tap connector may be terminated intermediate the ends of the cable. In either instance, the outer tubular sheath of the cable must be removed a distance away from the point of termination. This will leave a substantial portion of the flat cable unprotected outside the bounds of presently known mounting brackets. This invention is directed to solving these problems by providing a mounting apparatus which protects electrical cable, such as a flat ribbon-type cable, beyond a specific point of termination of the cable in an appropriate mounting bracket.